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Did the Romans introduce the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) into the Iberian Peninsula?

2018-06-19Journal article Open access
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dc.contributor.authorDetry, Cleia
dc.contributor.authorCardoso, João Luis
dc.contributor.authorMora, Javier Heras
dc.contributor.authorBustamante-Álvarez, Macarena
dc.contributor.authorSilva, Ana Maria
dc.contributor.authorPimenta, João
dc.contributor.authorFernandes, Isabel
dc.contributor.authorFernandes, Carlos
dc.date.accessioned2018-11-12T17:01:09Z
dc.date.available2018-11-12T17:01:09Z
dc.date.issued2018-06-19
dc.description.abstractNew finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), one from Portugal and one from Spain, were directly ¹⁴C dated to the first century AD. While the Portuguese specimen was found without connection to the Chalcolithic occupation of the Pedra Furada cave where it was recovered, the Spanish find, collected in the city of Mérida, comes from a ritual pit that also contained three human and 40 dog burials. The finds reported here show that the Egyptian mongoose, contrary to the traditional and predominant view, did not first arrive in the Iberian Peninsula during the Muslim occupation of Iberia. Instead, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the species was first introduced by the Romans, or at least sometime during the Roman occupation of Hispania. Therefore, radiocarbon dating of new archaeological finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in the Iberian Peninsula push back the confirmed presence of the species in the region by approximately eight centuries, as the previously oldest dated record is from the ninth century. With these new dates, there are now a total of four ¹⁴C dated specimens of Egyptian mongooses from the Iberian Peninsula, and all of these dates fall within the last 2000 years. This offers support for the hypothesis that the presence of the species in Iberia is due to historical introductions and is at odds with a scenario of natural sweepstake dispersal across the Straits of Gibraltar in the Late Pleistocene (126,000–11,700 years ago), recently proposed based on genetic data.pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorshipUNIARQ (Center of Archaeology, Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon) funded the 14C dating, and FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) funded CD's post-doctorate (grant: SFRHIBPD/ I 08326/2015). CF was suppolted by FCT, within the project UIDIBW00329/2013.pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorshipSFRHIBPD/I08326/2015 e UIDIBW00329/2013
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-018-1586-5pt_PT
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/7699
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.publisherThe Science of Naturept_PT
dc.subjectArqueologiapt_PT
dc.subjectEyptian mongoosept_PT
dc.subjectHerpestes ichneumonpt_PT
dc.subjectPeninsula Ibériapt_PT
dc.subjectPeríodo romanopt_PT
dc.titleDid the Romans introduce the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) into the Iberian Peninsula?pt_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.endPage13pt_PT
oaire.citation.startPage1pt_PT
oaire.citation.titleThe Science of Naturept_PT
person.familyNameCardoso
person.givenNameJoão Luis
person.identifier.ciencia-id4916-6273-3F6C
person.identifier.orcid0000-0003-2234-2266
rcaap.rightsopenAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationc6f6f01a-f706-4a21-903c-b3e585f1e98b
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryc6f6f01a-f706-4a21-903c-b3e585f1e98b

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